The Medley of Mayhem
by Sero Maxwell
Summary: Another chapter has begun in the Gundam world. A new threat, new allies, and new ...love? This could get interesting............
1. Chapter 1

Chap 1 Chap 1

At three a.m. in the morning, a young girl with black hair was walking through a dark and deserted park. Suddenly she heard a rustle overhead. She looked up confusion clearly written on her face. She then hears a screaming and yelling.

"Give me back my CD you kisama," it was girl's voice.

The girl on the ground hears a loud clang and a branch falls on her head. She lets out a loud cry in pain and clutches her head. Two figures fall from the tree and landed on the ground with a cat-like grace.

"You will die," growled the girl letting go of her head and pulling out her sword.

"Hold on put that down I didn't mean to hurt you," said the girl who had been screaming earlier. "I'm Mailie and _this _is my brother, Wufei."

"I'm Sero."

"Hi Sero. I'm sorry about the branch thing. Hey! You have a sword too. Neat. So do I." Mailie kept talking when finally Wufei said,

"Mailie shut-up. Onna, you talk too much."

"Well excuse me, Wufei. Sorry for living.

Mailie turned back to Sero and smiled, "So want to come to my place?"

"Sure," replied Sero.

Mailie turned and began to walk off in another direction, Sero following behind her and Wufei behind them.

**In another part of town**

A girl with long black hair and silver eyes was walking along the sidewalk when somebody knocked into her causing her to fall back and land on her butt.

"Hey! Watch where you're going," growled the girl on the floor.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?" replied a female's voice from above. She extended her hand to help the other girl up.

"I'm Birdie Winner. What's your name?"

"You're Birdie Winner. _THE_Birdie Winner. What are you doing in a place like this?"

"That's not important I need to know your name," said Birdie.

"Aphrodite Bloom. Why?"

"Come follow me."

"Um…I'm sort of busy meet me at the circus later."

"Okay"

The two girls departed. 'Wonder what she wanted?' thought Aphrodite as she went on her way.

At the circus

Aphrodite had just finished her act on the trapeze. She was now in the back when she heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Um…It's Birdie Winner."

"The door is open."

The door opened and Birdie stepped inside.

"First, I want to congratulate you on your performance."

"Thanks," Aphrodite replied coolly. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Birdie looked nervous for a second then said, "My brother sent me to get you."

"Okay let me get dressed."

Birdie exited leaving Aphrodite to change, who emerged, wearing a short black shorts and t-shirt, a few minutes later.

"Come on," said Birdie leading the way.

Back with Mailie and Sero

"What's wrong with him?" asked Sero indicating Wufei.

"Oh him there's not enough justice in this world according to him," explained Mailie. "Let's leave him alone."

Mailie touched Sero on the shoulder. Sero got this quick flashback. Her eyes widened and she started backing up.

"No," she whispered.

Mailie looks at Sero nervous and worried and asked, "What?" Sero keeps backing up until she hits a wall. Mailie came over and asked, "Sero, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong, Mailie?" asked Wufei coming over.

"I don't know," explained Mailie. "We better get her help."

"I know someone," said Wufei.

They advanced toward Sero, but she lets out a loud shrill scream. Wufei and Mailie cover their ears in pain as they continue to get closer to her.

"NO!!"

At Birdie's house

"WOW! This place is huge," gasped Aphrodite.

"Yeah," replied Birdie in a bored tone. "This way."

Birdie led Aphrodite through several doors. They then came to a large door and Birdie pushed it open and they both stepped inside. The room was richly furnished with the finest material. In the back of the room closest to the window was a desk and sitting at the desk is a young boy about 16 years old with platinum blond hair, sapphire sky blue eyes, and the fairest skin.

"Good morning, Miss Aphrodite Bloom. I am Quatre Raberba Winner."

"Nice to meet you, but what do you want from me?" asked Aphrodite.

"You own a gundam by the name of Black Panther."

"Hey, how did you know that? I didn't tell anyone except for my brother," exclaimed Aphrodite.

"Let's say I have connections, but that's not the point. I have some one picking it up."

Just then somebody burst through the door. It was Wufei and Mailie and they were carrying a rolled up blanket that moved occasionally.

"Can we get a doctor?" asked Wufei.

"What's wrong and what's wrapped in that sheet?" asked Quatre.

"There's a girl wrapped in the blanket and she's crazy," explained Wufei.

Quatre called his Maganac men in and they carried the bundle away. As soon as they left Quatre turned to Wufei and said, "This must be your sister. Her name is Mailie correct?"

Wufei nodded his head

"What is going on here I demand an explanation NOW!?" demanded Aphrodite.

Just then the door opened again but this time three boys stepped in. The first on had chestnut brown hair pulled into a braid and violet eyes. The second one had brown hair and cobalt blue eyes and…

"TROWA?! What are you doing here?" asked Aphrodite. "Trowa, I want an explanation."

"We'll explain soon," said Trowa calmly.

Aphrodite let out an exasperated sigh and went to stand back with Mailie and Birdie. Mailie looked at both of them and said, "Hi, I'm Mailie. What's your name?

"I'm Birdie."

"Aphrodite Bloom."

"Do you know why we are here?" asked Mailie.

Aphrodite shook her head and Birdie said, "I was just told to go find her." And she indicated to Aphrodite.

So they just decided to the boy's conversation.

"Duo, did you find anything?" asked Quatre.

"Yeah, we found White Coyote and Silver Wolf, but we can't find Black Panther," reported Duo.

"That's because I hid it so not even my brother could find it," interrupted Aphrodite.

"What did you say?" asked Heero.

"I said I hid it someplace else."

"Where?" asked Duo.

"None of your business," said Aphrodite stubbornly.

Trowa glared at her and she sighed and said, "Okay, I'll tell you, but first I need an explanation." And with that she sat on the ground.

Mailie and Birdie both nodded their heads in agreement.

Quatre cleared his throat and said, "It started a year ago with OZ, Whitefang, and Mariemaya…"

On hour later

"…and that is the whole story," finished Quatre.

They looked over at the girls and noticed Aphrodite and Mailie had fallen asleep and Birdie was about to doze off. Everybody sweat-dropped and face-faulted.

"Quatre, you put them to sleep," said Duo.

They were drawn out of their thoughts by a scream and Rashid bursting through the door.

"Master Quatre…" began Rashid then he fainted.

Aphrodite and Mailie woke up and Birdie was wide-awake now.

"What happened?" asked Quatre.

They look out the door and see Sero standing in the doorway holding a sword and the 40 Maganacs unconscious on the floor around.

"Who's that?" asked Duo.

"That's Sero," replied Mailie.

"STAY BACK!!" yells Sero warningly.

They all remain in that spot except for Duo who decides to step closer.

"GET BACK!!" Sero yelled again this time swinging her sword at Duo, but Wufei steps in and deflected the sword causing it to go flying into the wall. Sero sprints down the hall everyone hot on her heels. She makes a quick left into a music room. Everyone stops at the door. Sero was trapped and she looked around the room nervously. Her eyes landed on a harp and she stares at it. She moves over and sits down on the couch. Her wild look disappears and she begins to play. Mailie sighed in relief and watches as Sero continued to play the harp, not noticing the others entering the room and taking seats.

**Ten Minutes Later**

Sero stopped playing and stood up and looked around confused, "Where am I? AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

"You are in _**his house,**_" said Mailie. "And I'm Chang Mailie, remember?"

"That's right, so who are they?" asked Sero.

"I'm Quatre Raberba Winner, this is my sister Birdie," he points to the girl next to him with blue hair and silver eyes. "That is Heero, over there is Duo, then there's Trowa and Aphrodite and you know Wufei. What's your name?"

"Sero," she replied gazing into Quatre's soft sapphire sky blue eyes

Quatre blushed lightly, turned and left indicating everyone to follow. They went back to the study and sat down.

"Sero, you might want to know what's going on," said Quatre and he was about to tell the story again when several people yelled, "NO!!" Quatre blushed again then turned to Aphrodite who was oblivious to the staring.

Duo came over and said, "Babe, where is your gundam?"

"First of all it's Aphrodite and second I'm not telling."

"You have a gundam too?" asked Sero.

Heero turned and looked at Sero and asked, "What do you know about gundams?"

Sero ignored him. Heero was about to ask again when they heard a beep. Sero looked at her wrist watch. She presses a button and a hologram of Doctor J appeared.

"Sero you have a mission. The Data is on you wrist watch."

"Mission Accepted," said Sero and she pressed another button and Doctor J disappeared.

"Was that Doctor J?" asked Heero.

Sero looked at Heero surprised, but dismissed it.

"By any chance do you have a gundam?" asked Quatre to Sero.

"No, I'm just a professional assassin." Quatre did not believe her and said, "You're lying." Sero gulped and said," Yes, I do have a gundam by the name of Gold Fox. It's number is 000. I'm a special project of Doctor J."

"Well you are all welcomed to spend the night here and we will finish looking for the other gundam tomorrow. Birdie will show you to your room."

"I will be leaving," said Sero.

"Will you come back?" asked Quatre.

"May hap, just leave a window open." She goes to the window opens it and jumps out. Everyone stares and sweat-dropped. Aphrodite breaks the silence

"So how about those rooms?"

"Oh yeah, follow me," said Birdie.

As they walk down the hall Mailie says, "Wonder if she made it, this is a four story building."

Just then they heard an engine start, they go to the nearest window and peer outside. They see a motorcycle take off down the road. Mailie giggles and said, "Hey Wufei look outside."

There was silence then curses floated down the hall. The girls look at each other and start laughing and continue to walk down the hall.

Back in the room

Quatre and the others were talking in a whisper then everyone went silent. The silence was interrupted by Duo.

"Trowa, why didn't you tell me you had a sister."

Trowa shrugged and said, "Never thought about it."

"She's cute," said Duo.

Trowa looked at Duo, "What?" exclaimed Duo. Trowa just shook his head in disbelief.

"We need to find Black Panther so we can begin training them on more advanced levels. Wufei you can take…"

Quatre was interrupted by Wufei, "Sorry, I can't. I'm going to the Preventers with Sally."

Quatre sighed and said, "So what do we do?"

"I'll train Mailie," volunteered Trowa.

"But you were supposed to take Aphrodite," said Quatre.

"I'll take Aphrodite," said Duo smiling.

"And I'll take my sister. Heero you will continue working on the Zero system."

Heero nodded

"If that is it we should get to bed," said Quatre.

In the girl's hall

Mailie exited her room and went next door where she proceeded to knock on the closed door.

"Come in," came an exhausted voice.

Mailie entered to find Aphrodite on the bed lying down.

"Hey Aphrodite can we talk?"

"Sure."

Mailie took a seat in the chair and they sat in silence. She finally spoke and said, "It seems too surreal. I wonder what is going to happen?"

Just then another knock sounded on the door and it opened to reveal Birdie.

"Can I join you?"

"It's your house," replied Aphrodite.

Birdie came in and took a seat on the floor and said, "I heard my brother say that they were going to start training us and then when we were ready they would send us on our first mission."

"Sounds fun," said Mailie.

They fall into silence and then Mailie said, "Aphrodite, your brother he's cute."

Aphrodite looked at Mailie and raised an eyebrow.

"What?! He is cute."

"It's okay. It just took me by surprise," said Aphrodite.

"Do you know if he's taken?" asked Mailie.

"No he's not taken, but if you're interested I'm warning you he is very stubborn," said Aphrodite.

Mailie just grinned.

"What about you Birdie?" asked Mailie.

Birdie blushed and said, "The one with short brown hair and cobalt eyes. Heero was his name."

"Him? He seem kind of distant and cold like a rock," said Mailie.

"I'll get him," said Birdie she then turned to Aphrodite and asked, "How about you?"

"I would have to say the loud mouth one. And that braid is very sexy," said Aphrodite. "He's cute and very bold."

They looked at each other and laughed.

"What's so funny?" The three girls stopped laughing and turned to see Sero standing on the windowsill.

"Hey Sero, you came back," said Mailie

Sero did not say anything just jumped from the sill to the floor.

Aphrodite got up and said, "We really didn't meet, but I'm Aphrodite Bloom."

Sero looked at her and said, "I'm not interested." She turned to Birdie and said, "Where is the nearest room?"

Birdie said, "Down the hall. Last door on the right."

Sero left the room without saying another word. Finally Mailie said, "I'm going to bed. See you all tomorrow." Birdie left behind her. When she was finally alone she turned off the light and went to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chap 2 Chap 2

**The next morning, **

Aphrodite woke up to the sounds of yelling. She opened the door and peered outside. She was met with the scene of Sero holding a sword and Duo standing in the hall dodging the swings. Mailie and Birdie peer out from their rooms.

"What's going on?" asked Mailie.

Duo looked back and said, "I just accidentally bumped into her. Then she draws her sword…"

He was cut off as he was slammed against the wall. He looked and saw Aphrodite clutching her arm. Blood was flowing through her fingers.

"Run," she said.

Duo nodded and took off down the hall Sero right behind him. Mailie and Birdie came over and helped Aphrodite up.

"We better get that fixed," said Birdie. "Duo's on his own now."

Several corridors away

Duo ran through the halls trying to think up ideas to try and stop Sero from murdering him. Just then he remembered last night. 'The Harp', but he did not know how to play the harp so he did the next thing that came to his mind.

"QUATRE!!"

The blond heard the yelling and went to the door of his study. He was surprised to find Duo being chased by Sero holding a sword.

"Quatre, meet me in the music room and HURRY!" shouted Duo as he ran pass him Sero behind him. The blond went through another door taking a short cut. He arrived at the music room just in time to see Duo rounding a corner and coming to the room. He took a seat at the harp getting ready to play. Duo entered the room and he began to play. Sero heard the music and dropped the sword and sat next to Quatre in a trance. Duo let out a sigh of relief and left the room.

**Back with girls**

"Stop pulling so hard," complained Aphrodite.

"If you keep still then it wouldn't hurt so much," said Mailie wrapping Aphrodite's arm.

She cut the tape and wrapped the rest around her arm making sure it stayed in place.

"There. All done."

"Thanks"

There was a knock on the door and Duo's head appeared in the door. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

"Um…thanks for saving my life, babe," he said.

"It was nothing. Us girls have to take care of you men or you wouldn't be able to survive," said Aphrodite.

Duo crossed his arms, pouted and said, "We can so take care of ourselves. Thank you very much."

"Yeah. Yeah. But what I want to know is when to we start training?" asked Aphrodite.

"Well you're injured so we might have to wait a couple of days," explained Duo.

"Nonsense. This is just a small scratch. I'm not a fragile flower. So don't treat me like one," protested Aphrodite.

Duo looked surprised for a second before saying, "Okay babe, we'll start today. Meet me outside in an hour."

"YOU?! Who said you were training me?"

"It's either me or no one at all," said Duo.

Aphrodite crossed her arms and said, "Fine."

Duo left the room leaving the three girls alone. Aphrodite looked at both of them and said, "Let's go girls. It's time to show these men what we are really made of."

Back in the music room

Quatre had just finished playing the harp and both of them just sat in silence.

Sero spoke first, "You play beautifully."

"Thanks," replied Quatre blushing. "So you came back?"

"Yeah, I had no place else to go so I remembered your offer and came back."

"I'm glad you came back." Quatre looked at the clock on the wall and said, "I have to train my sister. You are welcomed to roam the house if you want."

"No, don't leave me. I don't want to be alone. I've been alone my entire life," begged Sero.

"Okay I guess I'll get Heero to train Birdie today and I'll show you around the house.

Sero smiled gratefully and followed Quatre as they left the music room.

In Aphrodite's room

Aphrodite opened the door to her closet and gaped at the rows of different clothes lining the wall. She searched and finally decided on a blue tank top and short black shorts. She admired herself in the mirror. She nodded in approval and put on her shoes getting ready to head outside to meet Mailie and Birdie.

Mailie, who was wearing black leather pants and a crop top, was out in the hall waiting with Birdie, who was wearing very short shorts and a t-shirt. When they were finally together they made their way outside to the front of the house. They stepped out into the bright sun and were met by Duo, Trowa, and Heero.

"Where's Quatre? I thought he was going to train me?" asked Birdie.

"He's showing that girl, Sero, around so you have to do with Heero," explained Duo. The braided boy turned his full attention onto Aphrodite and grinned.

"Hey, babe. Looking good."

Aphrodite shook her head and said, "Come on. Let's get this done and over with." They both left leaving Birdie, Mailie, Trowa, and Heero.

Mailie looked ay Trowa grinned and said, "Shall we get started." Mailie dragged Trowa away. Birdie and Heero were left alone. The Wing pilot looked at Birdie and then walked off. The young heiress sighed and followed after the stoic boy thinking 'This is going to harder then I thought.'

**In the forest, **

"It should be around here somewhere…ah ha…there's my baby."

Aphrodite stepped out from a bush into a clearing. There in the center sat a mobile black gundam.

"So this is Black Panther. Well now we need a carrier to get her back to the mansion."

"There should be one around here. I left it here when I hid Black Panther," explained Aphrodite looking through several bushes. Finally after some time she called out, "I found it." They loaded the gundam onto the carrier and headed back to Quatre's mansion.

**Back at the mansion,**

"Wow, this is a beautiful garden," said Sero as she and Quatre walked around.

"So, Sero, do you plan to help us?"

"I don't know. I have no other place to stay and our missions are almost the same."

"Well, I'll be happy if you stay with us."

Sero looked at Quatre surprised and asked, "Do you mean it."

Quatre nodded his head as they gazed into each other's eyes.

"Master Quatre…" they were interrupted by on of the Maganac men.

"You are free to go as you please. Dinner is a 6 p.m." With that the blond turned and left the garden.

Sero continued to explore on her own thinking to herself. 'Nobody has ever cared for me before. He is the first. Maybe I should get to know him better.' Sero smiled then frowned 'NO. I'm supposed to be emotionless.' Sero continued to walk on trying to sort out her confusing thoughts.

**Another part of the mansion,**

"I just can't seem to get it," complained Mailie.

Trowa looked up at Silver Wolf, Mailie's gundam, and sighed. He had put her on simulation mode to see how she would do. So far until now she was doing fine. She had completed seven levels in less in 15 minutes. Trowa climbed up into the cockpit and looked inside. He saw Mailie sitting there glaring at the monitor arms crossed and pouting.

"What's wrong?"

"I keep getting shot down. Every time I get to a certain point the Aries come out of nowhere and shoot me down. What am I doing wrong?"

"You're hesitating," replied Trowa.

"So what do I do?" asked Mailie.

"Try it from a different angle or position. Or you can try an alternate route. You pick. These are decisions you will have to make while you are in battle and if you hesitate you will get killed. Know your options a step before they happen," explained Trowa.

Mailie started the simulation again and tried it over. A few minutes alter an excited shout was heard from inside Silver Wolf.

Outside in another part of the mansion

"So what do I do?" asked Birdie as she gazed up at her Gundam, White Coyote.

Heero didn't say anything, just stood there. Birdie sighed and waved her hand in front of him saying, "Hello! Is anybody in there? Are you going to tell me what to do or not?"

"Climb into your Gundam," answered Heero.

Birdie climbed up, opened the hatch, and sat in the cockpit. White Coyote was rarely used so it still had that brand new smell to it. Just then Heero appeared in front of her causing Birdie do jump in surprise.

"Don't do that. You scared me."

Heero didn't say anything just pressed a few buttons left and closed the cockpit. Birdie stared in confusion and looked around the dark space. Just then the screen in front of her lit up and the words "Simulation Mode" appeared on the screen. Birdie grinned happily and waited in anticipation.

Back with Aphrodite and Duo

"Here we are let's set up your gundam and begin training," said Duo in a cheerful voice.

Aphrodite hopped out of the carrier, climbed up onto the Blank Panther, and untied the sheets that were covering it. When it was removed Aphrodite opened the cockpit and started the gundam moving it off the carrier and onto the ground putting it into a sitting position. Duo seeing it was safe climbed up opened the cockpit and said, "Okay I will put you on Simulation Mode so we see what you can do."

He typed in a few commands and hopped out of the cockpit closing it. Inside, Aphrodite stared at the darkness. Just then the screen in front of her lit up. 'Okay let's see what I can do,' she thought to herself.

Inside Quatre's mansion

Quatre was sitting at a computer looking at the blueprints of each new Gundam.

"Let's see Silverwolf has heatblades just like Sandrock. There is Black Panther, which has a twin blade scythe. White Coyote has a twin buster trident. But there is no information on Goldfox."

"Well Duh. It is a secret project," came a new voice.

Quatre looked up at the source of the voice and sighed, "Oh Sero. It's just you."

Sero jumped from the windowsill and walked over to Quatre who asked, "So what weapons does Goldfox have?"

"Well I don't know if I should tell you…"

"Please Sero. I need to make a blueprint of the gundam to keep it in a safe file," begged Quatre.

Sero looked at Quatre for a few minutes then said," Fine. I'll tell you because you were so nice to me."

Quatre smiled and Sero felt a weird feeling in her stomach when she saw it. He looked up at her and said, "Okay give me all the details of your gundam."

"Well my gundam has a two beam sabers, twin buster rifle, two 40 mm machine cannons, two 20 mm Vulcan cannons, and a buster shield."

"Is that all?" asked Quatre.

"No. My gundam can turn into a fox."

"Really," exclaimed Quatre. "Maybe the others new gundams can change into animals. Let me draw up their blueprints."

Sero shrugged and sat back watching

Back outside with Mailie

Mailie sat in her gundam just relaxing. She had completed all the levels in the simulation mode and now she was watching Trowa, who was working on his gundam, Heavyarms.

'He's silent but cute,' thought Mailie. 'Not bad looking. He would make a good boyfriend.'

She sighed and got out of the cockpit and stretched lazily. She jumped down from her gundam and laid down on the grass falling asleep in the warm sun.

Back to Heero and Birdie

Heero sat at his gundam working at it. He stopped what he was doing and let out a sigh. Birdie had bothered him all day about what she was supposed to do and why they were chosen. Heero had just tried to ignore her.

'For some reason whenever she's around me I get this feeling inside me,' he thought.

He quickly pushed that thought away and continued to work. Birdie sat in White Coyote still training with a bored sigh she shut down her gundam and climbed out of her cockpit. She looked across at Wing Zero and smiled.

"Heero!! I'm hungry!!" shouted Birdie.

There was no answer. Birdie growled and climbed up onto Wing Zero. Heero was so absorbed in his work that he did not notice her. Birdie took a deep breath and yelled,

"HEY HEERO!!"

The Wing Zero pilot jumped out of his seat and pointed his gun at Birdie's face.

"Hey Heero. Why don't you put that down? I didn't mean to startle you."

Birdie took a stepped back and not realizing she was at the edge of the hatch she fell off and landed with a loud thud on the ground. Heero dropped his gun and jumped down from the cockpit and landed right next to Birdie, who was unconscious. He sighed, picked her up and carried her toward the mansion.

Over on the other side of the house with Aphrodite and Duo

Aphrodite sat in her gundam playing with her controls when she heard a voice below. She looked over and saw Duo.

"Hey babe. It's dinnertime. We have to go inside now!"

Aphrodite sighed and called down, "I'm coming."

She jumped down and they started walking towards the house when Aphrodite spoke

"Why do you keep calling me babe?"

Duo blushed, shrugged and said, "No reason. If you don't want me to call you that just tell me."

"No it's fine," replied Aphrodite smiling. "You are cute."

Duo looked at Aphrodite surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah now come on before we miss dinner," said Aphrodite taking Duo's hand and dragging him toward the mansion.


	3. Chapter 3

Chap 3 Chap 3

In the large dining room, the table was set and waiting for its occupants. Quatre was the first to come in followed by Sero right behind him. Quatre sat at the head of the table with Sero sat at the other end. Just then Heero entered the dining room carrying an unconscious Birdie. When Quatre saw he stood up and went over to Heero.

"What happened?" asked the Sandrock pilot.

"She fell off of Wing Zero. She's just unconscious," replied Heero.

Just then Birdie started to stir. She finally realized she was in the dining room, but she wasn't lying on the floor or standing up, but rather in someone's arms. She looked up and noticed she was Heero's arms and blushed a deep red.

"Are you alright, Birdie?" asked Quatre.

"Yeah just a little dizzy from the fall," replied Birdie

"Can you see alright? Is everything in focused? Does your head hurt?" questioned Quatre.

"YES! I am fine Quatre. Stop with all the questions."

Quatre shut his mouth before he could say anything else and they stood there in an awkward silence. Then Birdie looked up at Heero and asked, "Um…you can put me down now." Heero blushed slightly and put Birdie down on the floor.

"You know what I'm going to contact Sally just in case," said Quatre as he left to phone the doctor.

Just then Duo and Aphrodite entered the dining room. The braided boy demanding, "Is dinner ready yet?" He took a seat on the right of Sero. Aphrodite sitting to the left of Sero so she was sitting across from Duo. Wufei came in shortly after and took a seat next to Duo. Quatre returned and took his seat at the head of the table. Heero to the left of Quatre and Birdie on the right.

"Sorry we're late I fell asleep," came Mailie's voice as she entered taking a seat next to Birdie and Trowa next to Wufei. As they were about to eat, Rashid came in and said, "Master Quatre, Miss Sally Poe is here."

"Good show her in, please," replied Quatre.

Rashid left the dining room and Sally Poe entered a few minutes later and took the remaining seat across from Wufei.

"Good evening, Sally before we start I want to meet some friends of mine. To your right is Aphrodite Bloom, Trowa's sister. Chang Mailie is to your left. Sitting next to Aphrodite is Sero and Birdie is to the left of Mailie. Girls this is Sally Poe."

They all nodded their head in greeting.

"Now I guess you're all hungry so let's eat."

Before anybody could start eating the food a servant entered the room and whispered into Quatre's ear. The blond paled and looked around at everyone who was sitting watching him.

"What's wrong, Quatre?" asked Duo.

Quatre gulped and said in a low voice, "Relena and the other girls will be here tomorrow."

"Oh no," groaned Heero clutching at the chair handles in a death grip.

Duo starts protesting loudly and offering ideas on how to get rid of them involving explosives. While Wufei jumps up from his seat and begins to rant about the injustice in the world for bringing this upon him.

The five girls look around at the pandemonium and then look at each other before Sero turns Quatre and asks, "Who is this Relena person and why are you so upset about seeing her?"

Duo stops his protesting and said, "Relena and everyone who hang out with her are the definition of trouble. You look up trouble in the dictionary and you see their picture."

Just then Duo whipped out a dictionary and opened it up to a page and showed it to the table. There next to the word trouble was a picture of Relena and the other girls.

"Did you tape that picture there?" asked Mailie.

"That's not the point. The point is Relena is coming and we aren't prepared."

Just then Heero stood up and began walking out of the room.

"Where are you going?" asked Quatre.

"To prepare," replied Heero in a serious tone.

"Can I come?" asked Birdie already following the stoic pilot before she could get an answer.

Mailie looked around at everyone who was panicking and said, "Since dinner is ruined I'm going for a walk. Does anybody want to come?"

"I'll come," said Trowa getting up and following Mailie out of the dining room.

Aphrodite yawned and said, "I'm sleepy. I'm going to go to bed."

Duo immediately stopped his ranting and said, "I'll walk her to her room. To make sure she doesn't get lost or something."

Sally seeing everyone was leaving excused herself saying she was tired and was going to turn in early for bed.

Quatre continued to sit in chair staring dejectedly at the table while Sero watched him and Wufei continued to rant.

"There goes dinner," said Quatre.

"Do you want me to kill them?" asked Sero seriously.

"NO...I mean that won't be necessary. We can't kill them."

"Okay, then if you don't need me then I will go to bed," said Sero getting up and leaving the room.

Quatre watched as the girl left the room and sighed. He was about to leave when he heard the loud rants and looked up to see Wufei still standing in the room.

"Um…Wufei?"

The Chinese boy looked up and saw the empty room and asked, "Where did everyone go?"

"They went to bed and maybe you should too," explained Qautre.

Wufei looked embarrassed and left the room Quatre behind him.

**Heero's Room**

Birdie and Heero entered the room and the stoic boy immediately went to a drawer and began to pull out several guns laying them on the bed.

"Nice collection," said Birdie as she picked up one of the guns inspecting it.

She noticed that the gun was already loaded, went to the window and aimed the gun and waited. Heero stopped what he was doing and watched the girl curiously. There was a long silence then Birdie pulled the trigger and a loud shot fired through the house, followed by a bird squawking and a rustle of feathers.

"Damn, I'm a bit rusty. Haven't used on e of these in years," said Birdie leaning out the window.

Heero stared at her in disbelief before turning back to his guns.

Birdie looked at him and said. "I have an idea, how about a little target practice. You can help me relearn how to use of these."

"Hn," replied Heero.

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"Hn."

Birdie smiled and said, "I'll take that as a yes. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

She hefted the gun over her shoulder and left the room leaving a slightly confused Heero staring after her.

**In the garden**

Trowa and Mailie were walking down the garden path in silence when Mailie said, "They're beautiful aren't they?"

Trowa looked at Mailie bewildered and she giggled softly and said, "The stars silly."

Trowa nodded his head in understanding and looked up at the sky and he realized that this was the first time he actually noticed them.

"I think the stars speak the truth, but…that's just what I believe," said Mailie quietly still looking up at the stars.

Trowa glanced at her before looking up at the back at the night sky.

**Upstairs**

"So who is Shinigami?" asked Aphrodite as she walked though the halls with Duo.

Duo blushed and said, "Well I'm Shinigami."

"Why do you say that you're Shinigami?"

Duo stopped walking and said, "Well when I was a kid I lived in an orphanage and watched as everyone died when I should have been the one to…"

"I'm sorry," replied Aphrodite.

Duo looked up at her and asked, "Why are you sorry?"

"I shouldn't have brought it up. It's obviously a sensitive subject."

Duo smiled sadly and said, "It's not your fault. I'll be fine."

Both continued to walk own the hall until they reached the Aphrodite's room where they both stopped in front of the door.

"Thanks for walking me to my room," said Aphrodite smiling.

"No problem," replied Duo.

Aphrodite opened the door and was about to step inside when Duo grabbed her arm stopping her from going any further.

"Duo, what…"

Aphrodite couldn't get the rest of her sentence out when she felt soft lips press against hers. Her eyes widened in astonishment and she stood still as her brain tried to register what was going on. She vaguely registered herself kissing him back, but before she knew it the kiss had ended and Duo had pulled away leaving her breathless.

"Wow," she whispered softly.

"Goodnight, babe," said Duo before turning and walking down the hall.

Aphrodite watched him walk away before turning and entering the room still in a daze.


	4. Chapter 4

Chap 4

**Chap 4**

**The next morning**

Sero woke up at the crack of dawn, got dressed and headed downstairs to the kitchen where she pulled out pots and pans and placed them on the stove. She went to the giant refrigerator and peered inside before pulling out several different types of foods placing them on the container and started cooking.

**An hour later**

Duo awoke to the smell of pancakes, bacon and coffee. He sat up and sniffed the air before he jumped out of bed, got dressed, and quickly headed down the stairs. He entered the dining room and looked around confused to see it empty.

"Where is everybody?"

He glanced at the clock and was surprise to see that it read 7:00 a.m.

"What? It's too early to be up, but I do smell food."

Duo entered the kitchen and was surprised to see Sero standing in front of the stove.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked.

Sero turned around and gazed at Duo with cool eyes, which caused the braided boy to squirm. She turned back to the stove and replied, "I'm making breakfast."

"Why?" asked Duo. "That's what the servants here are for."

Sero just shrugged and continued to cook ignoring Duo who stood at the door watching her. There were a couple of minutes of silence before Duo asked, "Is it ready yet?"

Sero turned and glared at the braided boy and said, "No."

Duo stepped back and said, "Okay, I was just asking you don't have to go crazy on me."

Sero sighed and said, "If you are that eager you can set the table so I can finish cooking."

Duo looked at the stack of plates and said, "Fine, I'll help as long as it gets the food to cook faster."

He grabbed the plates and the utensils and left the kitchen.

**In the dining room**

Duo stood at the table admiring his handy work. Just then Aphrodite entered the room and asked, "What smells so good?"

"Sero is cooking breakfast," replied Duo.

Aphrodite nodded and took a seat at the table looking at the setting. She blinked and looked back up at Duo and asked, "Who set the table?"

"I did," replied Duo proudly.

Aphrodite giggled and said, "Well I hate to burst your bubble, but you have everything backwards."

Duo blushed slightly.

"Come here and let me teach you how to properly set a table," said Aphrodite smiling.

Duo came over and stood behind her chair and watched as she explained the proper utensil etiquette.

"Here the plate, napkin and cup are in the right position; it's your utensils that are all mixed up. On the left of the plate you have the forks; first you have the salad fork followed by the main course fork and then the dessert fork. While to the right of the plate you have the soup spoon followed by your main course knife. However, since we are eating breakfast we won't need all of them."

"How do you know this?" asked Duo.

"Just something useless that I picked up," replied Aphrodite.

"I don't think it's useless," said Duo looking into silver eyes.

Aphrodite blushed and was about to look away when Duo grabbed her face gently so they inches away from each other. Duo leaned in and brushed his lips against hers and. Aphrodite gasped and parted her lips allowing Duo to slip his tongue between her lips. She moaned softly and was about to deepen the kiss when they heard footsteps approaching. The quickly pulled apart blushing just as Heero entered the room followed by Quatre, Trowa and Mailie.

"Breakfast smells good," said Mailie.

"But breakfast isn't supposed to be served until 9:00," said Quatre sitting in his chair.

"That's because Sero is cooking," replied Duo.

"Sero?"

"What's going on with Sero?" asked Birdie coming into the room followed by Sally and Wufei.

Just then Sero entered the room pushing a cart loaded with food.

"Sero, you didn't have to do this," said Quatre.

She just shrugged and said, "Force of habit. Now eat."

"No complaints here," said Duo already digging into the food.

**An hour later**

Everyone was sitting around the table talking when a beeping sounded through the room. Sally looked at her communicator and scowled.

"What is it Sally" asked Quatre.

"Wufei and I are needed at Preventers headquarters for a mission. I'm sorry I wasn't able to stay for long."

"It's alright," said Quatre smiling. "You know you are always welcomed here."

"Thank you Quatre. Wufei we have to leave immediately."

Wufei got up from the table and followed Sally out of the dining room.

"Oh that reminds me," said Birdie excitedly. "Heero and I had a previous engagement."

"A previous engagement?" asked Duo tauntingly.

Heero glared at Duo and the braided boy shut up and looked the other way innocently.

Birdie smiled and said, "Get your mind out of the gutter, Duo. Heero is just going to help me with my target practice."

Birdie pulled out the gun from the night before, grabbed Heero and dragged him out of the room before he could protest.

"Well, I'm stuffed," said Aphrodite getting up from her seat. "I have some things to work on in Black Panther and I want to get some more training done."

Duo immediately stood up and said, "I'll go with you."

Aphrodite smiled and walked out the room with Duo following behind her.

Mailie looked at Trowa and said, "Do you want to go to the garden with me? I have to meditate and I would like you to join me."

Trowa looked at Mailie who was looking at him with wide puppy dog eyes and nodded.

Mailie cheered and jumped up from her chair and dragged Trowa out of the room.

Quatre looked at Sero and asked, "How about we go to the music room?"

Sero nodded and said, "Okay." She got up from her seat and walked out of the dining room with Quatre.

As Sero and Quatre were walking to the music room they heard loud incessant knocking on the front door. Both stopped and looked at the door before Sero calmly walked over opened the door and asked, "What do you want?"

"I'm here to see Heero. Where is he?" replied a girl with light brown hair and blue eyes.

"Who are you?" asked Sero.

Before Relena could start her "Queen of the World" act, Quatre stepped in front of Sero and said, "Miss Relena it's so good to see you again. Come in we were expecting you."

"It's nice to see you too, Mr. Winner," said Relena in a fake aristocratic accent.

Quatre looked nervously at the group of women standing behind Relena and noticed the giant pile of luggage behind them.

"Um…that's a lot of suitcases. How long do you plan to stay here?"

"Two weeks now if you don't mind I would like to see _my _Heero," said Relena smiling.

"Of course…where are my manners, come in."

Quatre stepped aside, but Sero remained standing in front of the door.

"Step aside," said Relena with a frown.

Sero glared and asked again, "Who are you?"

Quatre gulped and said, "Sero, this is Miss Relena Peacecraft and her friends Hilde Schpiker, Katherine Bloom, Dorothy Catalonia, Lucrezia, Noin, Zechs Marquise, and Lady Une."

Sero looked at Quatre and said, "These are the people that were coming today…they don't look like much."

Relena huffed and said, "I am more then you are…I was the Queen of the World."

Sero was about to retort, but Quatre stepped between them and said, "Miss Relena, didn't you want to see Heero?"

Relena became starry eyed and said, "Yes, I must see Heero. He is the love of my life and some day we'll get married…"

"Relena, I would like to enter the house sometime this year," said Zechs.

Relena pouted at being interrupted and entered the through the front door the others following behind her.

"Why don't you get yourself settled and you can join us for lunch later," suggested Quatre.

"Oh good, I've wanted to see Duo. It's been so long since I saw him," said Hilde.

Dorothy walked pass Quatre and winked at the blonde boy, "Hello again Quatre."

Quatre gulped and said, "Hello Miss Dorothy."

Sero glared at the Dorothy coldly as she walked pass. She did not like her. Quatre called in a servant and ordered them to take care of the pile of suitcases at the door and show their guests to their bedrooms.

Quatre watched them disappear down the hall before turning to Sero saying, "Shall we continue to the music room?"

Sero just walked down the hall and Quatre quickly shut the door and followed after Sero.

**Outside in the target practice area**

Birdie was standing thirty feet away from a moving target; her gun was aimed as she waited for the right moment to fire. There was a deafening silence before a shot rang through the air and the bullet missed the target by an inch.

"Damn, I knew I was rusty, but not this bad," said Birdie irritated.

Heero moved from the tree he was leaning on and walked over to Birdie ordering, "Aim the gun again."

Birdie turned back to the target and held the gun up. Heero stood behind her and put his hands over hers and both stood there waiting.

"Watch," said Heero.

Birdie nodded and held the gun still feeling the warm hands over hers. They stood there for several seconds and then Heero lightly pressed the trigger pulling it back.

"Ready," whispered Heero. "On my signal."

"Heeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrooooooo!!" shouted a shrill voice startling both Birdie and Heero causing them to pull the trigger and fire the gun; the bullet whizzing over the trees.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Birdie.

"Relena," said Heero scowling.

Just then Relena appeared from behind the trees.

"Heero, there you are. I've been looking all over for you. I'm so happy to see you. Are you happy to see me? What a stupid question of course you are. I haven't stopped thinking about you…"

Birdie put the nozzle of the gun on the ground and said, "Excuse me, you just interrupted my target practice with your loud banshee scream. If you would kindly go away we could get back to what we were doing before you disrupted us."

Relena looked at Birdie with a disgusted look and asked, "Heero, who is she?"

"I'm Birdie Winner, Quatre's sister." Birdie eyed the brunette in front of her and said, "You must be Relena Peacecraft."

"That's right. I'm Relena Peacecraft." She turned to the cobalt-eyed boy and said, "What were you doing with her?"

Heero turned to Relena and said, "Go away, I'm busy."

"But Heero, I wanted to spend some time with you…since we will be getting married."

"Relena, we will never get married. Now go away."

Relena just smiled and said, "You aren't yourself today Heero. We should go inside, sit down and talk."

"Relena go inside now."

"Alright Heero, but I'll be waiting for you."

Relena smiled, turned and walked away leaving Birdie and Heero staring after her.

"What a little brat," said the blue-haired girl. "How do you put up with it?"

"Hn," replied Heero.

"If I were you I would shoot her just to shut her up," said Birdie as she aimed the gun again.

"Don't you think I've tried?" retorted Heero irritated just as Birdie pulled the trigger hitting the target in the middle.

Heero raised an eyebrow and asked, "How did you do it?"

Birdie grinned and said, "I just pictured her face as the target."

**In the woods behind the mansion**

Duo and Aphrodite were walking together in silence when Aphrodite asked, "Duo, what is the real reason…why do you hate Relena and her friends?"

"Well Relena is a pain in the ass. She's always whining for Heero and claiming that she's better then all of us, except for Heero. It gets on my nerves and to make things worse, when I tried to save her from Heero in the beginning she said I was the bad guy. I just want to step on her with Deathscythe Hell."

Aphrodite laughed and said, "That would be awesome. I would love to see that."

Duo chuckled and said, "Now I know why I like you."

Aphrodite smiled and said, "So you like me, huh?"

Duo blushed and said, "Of course. What's not to like? You're beautiful, have a witty sense of humor and…and I can't really see myself with anybody else."

Aphrodite moved over to Duo so she was standing a few inches away. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "I like you a lot too."

Duo's violet eyes glazed over in lust and he pulled Aphrodite so she was pressed up against him wrapping his arms around her waist. He was about to kiss her when a new voice sounded behind him.

"Duo, what is going on?"

The braided pilot turned to see Hilde watching them with a suspicious look on her face.

"Hilde, what are you doing here?"

"I came to visit you. Did you forget?"

Duo rubbed his head and said, "It must have slipped my mind."

Hilde moved so she was standing a few feet away from Aphrodite and asked, "Who are you?"

Aphrodite held out her hand and said, "I'm Aphrodite Bloom. It's nice to meet you."

Hilde ignored the hand and said coldly, "Duo is mine so stay away from him."

Aphrodite glared and said, "You don't own him. He can be with whomever he chooses."

Hilde growled getting ready to strike the raven-haired girl when Duo stepped in front of her and said, "Hilde, why don't you go inside. I will be in a second."

Hilde did not move.

"HILDE!" yelled Duo getting her attention.

"Fine, but this isn't over yet," muttered Hilde as she stormed away.

When the other girl had disappeared Duo sighed in relief.

Aphrodite looked at the Duo and said, "Was that your girlfriend?"

Duo looked into stern silver eyes and said, "No, she's not my girlfriend."

Aphrodite smiled and said, "Listen Duo, I like you a lot, but if you have someone else and you are just playing with me let me know…"

Duo took Aphrodite's shoulders in his hands and said, "I would never do that. It's you I have feelings for…not Hilde. I want to be with you."

Aphrodite looked into the pleading violet eyes, sighed and said, "I know you do."

Duo smiled, wrapped his arms around her and said, "You are the best, babe."

Aphrodite giggled and wrapped her arms around Duo's neck placing a quick kiss on the boy's lips saying, "I know I am. Now go talk to your stalker, I'll wait for you."

**In the garden**

Mailie sat on a rock next to a small pond. Her eyes were closed and her body relaxed as she cleared her mind. Sitting a couple of feet away, Trowa watched her silently. After a few minutes of silence, Mailie opened her eyes sighed and said, "I can't concentrate with you sitting there."

Trowa looked away and began to get up off the ground intending to leave, but was stopped by Mailie saying, "NO, don't go. I didn't mean it as a bad thing. I just can't keep my mind off of you and it's ruining my concentration. It's not your fault. I like being around you and I don't mind you disturbing my concentration…and I probably sound like an idiot rambling on like this."

Trowa walked over to Mailie who was glaring at the ground and kneeled in front of her. He took her face into his hand and said, "I like being around you too."

Mailie blushed and leaned forward intent on giving the boy a kiss on the cheek, but Trowa turned his head at the last second and their lips met in a chaste kiss. Mailie quickly pulled away and asked, "Why did you do that?"

Trowa looked confused and said, "You wanted to kiss. You didn't like it?"

Mailie blushed and said, "No, I really like…kissing you, but I didn't think we were ready for that yet and I guess I'm saying I would really like to do it again."

Trowa leaned forward and captured Mailie's soft lips in a passionate kiss wrapping his arms around her waist. Mailie moaned softly and returned the kiss eagerly. Both were so caught up in the moment that they did not hear the sound of someone approaching until a female voice interrupted them.

"Trowa?"

Mailie and Trowa quickly moved apart putting distance between them as they blushed a bright red. Trowa looked up and his eyes widened when he saw who it was.

"Kathy?"

"Trowa, what is going on?"

Mailie looked at the tall girl and said, "Trowa is she your girlfriend? I'm sorry, it's my fault I shouldn't have flirted with him. If I knew he was taken I wouldn't have tried anything."

Trowa blinked confused and said, "Girlfriend? Kathy isn't my girlfriend, she's my sister."

"Sister?"

"Yes, my name's Katherine Bloom."

Mailie sighed and said, "That's a relief. For a second there I thought I was…I mean what I meant to say is that I'm sorry for jumping to a conclusion like that."

"Don't worry about it?" replied Katherine smiling.

Mailie hit her head with her hand and said, "Where are my manners? Let me introduce myself. The name is Chang Mailie."

"It's nice to meet you Mailie," replied Katherine. She turned to Trowa and said, "When were you going to tell me you were seeing somebody?"

Trowa blushed a light red looking uncomfortably. Mailie seeing the boy in distress said, "We aren't seeing each other yet, but I was hoping we could…with your permission of course."

Katherine sighed and said, "To tell you the truth I'm actually happy. This is the first time Trowa has shown any interest in a girl before. I was starting to worry. Maybe having a girlfriend will mellow him out a bit."

Mailie smiled, jumping off of the ground hugging the older girl. "Thank you so much, Miss Bloom."

"Please call me Kathy. Miss Bloom makes me sound old."

Mailie let go of Katherine and went over to Trowa latching onto his arm.

The brunette girl looked around and asked, "Trowa, have you seen Aphrodite? I would like to see her."

"Oh Aphrodite went off with Duo. They should be in the woods."

"She's alone with a boy…in the woods?" Katherine took off in the other direction leaving a confused Mailie and Trowa.

"Is your sister always like that?" asked Mailie.

Trowa just nodded.

**Back in the mansion**

"You play very well," said Sero just as Quatre finished a piece on his violin. The blond set the instrument down in the case and sat across from Sero and said, "Thank you."

Sero looked away when she saw the blue eyes staring at her and blushed lightly.

Quatre smiled and asked, "Do you know what I was thinking?"

"No," replied Sero.

"I was thinking we should get to know each other more."

Sero looked up confused and said, "Really?"

"Sure, why not. I like you and I like to get to know my friends."

Just as Sero was going to reply the door burst open and Dorothy entered the room. Sero glared at the blond girl and Quatre gulped nervously. Dorothy ignored the glare and went over to Quatre and sat next to him.

"Quatre, it's been a long time since we last saw each other. How about we catch up?"

Sero stood up and said, "If you didn't notice we were busy, you eyebrow freak."

Before the blonde girl could retaliate Quatre cleared his throat and said, "Miss Dorothy, what do you need?"

Dorothy smiled and said, "I just wanted to spend some time with you."

"Um…" Before Quatre could respond the door opened and Katherine entered the room.

"Quatre, where is Aphrodite training with Duo?"

The blond boy sighed in relief at the interruption and said, "Miss Katherine, it's so good of you to come. She's training in the woods with Duo, but if you like I could show you where that is."

Quatre immediately stood up heading out of the door saying, "Sero come with me…I'm not exactly sure where it is you can help me find it. Miss Dorothy, why don't you stay here? I will be back."

The three left leaving Dorothy sitting on the couch with a glare.


	5. Chapter 5

Chap 5

**Chap 5**

Duo immediately found Hilde waiting at the front entrance of the mansion. Her arms were crossed and she was scowling. The braided pilot gulped and walked over to her.

"Hey, Hilde."

"Duo, you better have a good explanation for this. I mean I come all the way from L2 to visit you and you have another girl hanging off of you. What the hell is going on?"

"Hilde, would you calm down and let me explain."

The dark-haired girl sighed, but continued to glare at Duo who looked away nervously.

Duo cleared his throat and said, "Hilde, I've known you for several years now and I know we've gotten close, but Aphrodite is very special to me. I love you too, but only as a friend…or better yet a sister."

"So that's it then—you're going to throw everything we had away for that tramp?"

"Aphrodite isn't a tramp. She's a good girl and we have a lot in common."

"I don't care if she's the fucking queen of the world, get rid of her."

Before Duo could object the front door opened and Quatre stepped outside followed by Sero and Katherine.

"There you are Duo. Where's Aphrodite?"

"She's in the woods…I was just going back there now to get her."

"YOU left her in the WOODS?" shouted Katherine.

Duo cringed and said, "It was only for a while so I could talk to Hilde."

Katherine glared and said, "Take me to her NOW."

"Okay, just calm down," replied Duo as he slowly backed up.

Aphrodite was sitting against a tree playing with the grass when she heard someone walking toward her. She stood up quickly; taking a defensive stance when suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She grabbed the person's wrist and yanked hard flipping them over her shoulder so they landed on their back in front of her. She was about to kick them when a familiar, but pained voice called her name.

"Aphrodite, it's me Duo."

The raven-haired girl stopped, looked down and gasped when she saw the Duo was on the ground staring up at her.

"OH MY GOD! Duo, I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?"

The braided boy sat up, rubbing his sore back and said, "No, I'm fine, but you have a visitor."

"Visitor?"

"Aphrodite?" called a female voice from behind her.

She turned around and squealed when she saw Katherine walking towards her.

"Kathy, what are you doing here?" she asked as she pulled the older woman into a big hug.

Katherine smiled and said, "I had to see my favorite little sister."

Aphrodite laughed and said, "But I'm your only little sister."

"Which makes it all the better."

Aphrodite clapped her hands excitedly and said, "Oh, this day couldn't get any better. First, I get myself a boyfriend and now Kathy has come to visit me."

"Boyfriend?"

Aphrodite froze and looked at her sister nervously.

"Ummm…did I say boyfriend? I meant—I got a new friend who just so happens to be a boy."

Katherine tapped her foot in annoyance and when Aphrodite saw this she decided to switch tactics.

The raven-haired girl pouted and wrung her hands shyly as she stared up at her older sister with large silver eyes and said, "Kathy, you don't know how lonely and depressed I felt when I first got here. I was so scared, but Duo he took really good care of me and made me feel so welcomed and loved. I'm so grateful to him. I don't think I can—live without him."

Katherine sighed as she shook her head, "I don't believe that load of shit for one second, but it looks like he has taken really good care of you and if he makes you happy then I don't see a problem."

"Really?"

Katherine nodded.

Aphrodite hugged her sister again chanting, "Thank you" over and over again. When she let go of the other girl she rushed over and hugged Duo tightly.

"You better take good care of her. If any harm comes to my sister let's just say that this will be the last girl you ever date in your life time."

Duo gulped nervously and said, "I will protect Aphrodite with my life."

"That's what I want to hear."

To say dinner was awkward would have been an understatement. There was a heavy silence that filled the large room and it seemed to echo everywhere.

Quatre cleared his throat, looked around the table and asked, "So how was everyone's day?"

There was a brief silence before everyone started talking at once in a dull roar. Quatre sighed and just let everyone speak without listening.

Birdie who had been relating her day at target practice stopped when she saw that Heero was more quiet than usual.

Birdie touched the silent boy's arm, "Heero?"

Relena who had been seated across from Heero saw Birdie touching Heero, glared and demanded, "Don't touch my Heero."

Birdie glared back and said, "He's not yours and I can touch him whenever I want to."

Relena stood up suddenly knocking over her chair and stormed around the table making a grab for the blue-haired girl who easily dodged her taking a defensive stance a few feet away.

"You little bitch; I will see to it that your life is a living hell if you ever come near Heero again."

"Miss Relena, please calm down…"

"SHUT UP, you blond twit," shouted Relena.

Relena turned back to face Birdie, but before she could attack the girl again a hand slapped her across the face causing the entire room to gasp.

The blond girl grabbed her cheek and looked at Heero with tear filled eyes.

"Heero…why?"

The Zero pilot quickly turned away and left the room leaving everybody stunned.

Birdie glared and flicked Relena off before following the retreating pilot out of the dining room.

Once outside, Birdie looked around the area before running into the darkened forest. She pushed through the thick underbrush wincing as branches scratched at her exposed flesh. Birdie stopped walking and glanced at her surroundings before turning and running into a different direction. She spotted a dense bush and pushed through stumbling into a small clearing with a pond.

"Why did you follow me?" asked a familiar voice startling Birdie.

"Heero, is that you?"

There was a slight movement signaling his presence and Birdie went over to him taking a seat beside the stolid boy.

"Are you alright?" asked Birdie.

"Why did you follow me?"

"I was worried about you," replied Birdie. "Do you want to tell me what happened back there?"

"I failed to protect Relena," replied Heero.

"How did you fail?"

"I was supposed to protect her from harm and I ended up harming her myself."

"Heero, don't you think you are taking this bodyguard thing a little too seriously? When they say protect they mean from dangerous bad guys who want to kill her. You were stopping her from temporary insanity…which believe me was doing her a big favor."

Heero remained quiet and Birdie sighed, "Don't beat yourself up over it. Trust me."

They sat in another long silence until Birdie said, "Even though she's a pain in the ass, Relena really likes you. I think she's just a little dense on how to express her feelings."

"It's more like an obsession," replied Heero quietly.

Birdie giggled and said, "You may be right, but seriously what do you think of her?"

Heero looked at the young Winner daughter with a confused expression.

Birdie sighed and asked, "Do you like her as in girlfriend material?"

"No," replied Heero instantly. "She is only necessary for peace. I was trained not have any feelings or emotions."

"That's a load of shit," replied Birdie. "Everybody needs feelings."

"Why?" asked Heero.

Birdie shrugged her shoulders and said, "I—I don't know. You just do. There's no definite reason why you should have feelings."

Heero remained silent causing Birdie to pout and scowl.

"Fine, I'm going to prove you wrong. I'm going to show you that you do have feelings even if I have to follow you around."

The blue-haired girl laid back on ground resting her head on her crossed arms as they lapsed into another long silence. After a few minutes there was soft snore and when Heero looked down at Birdie he saw that she had fallen fast asleep. He was about to shake her awake, but stopped and looked down at the peacefully sleeping girl and changed his mind. He ran a hand through his unruly brown hair and looked out into the water as if searching for the answers to the many questions circling in his jumbled mind; oddly enough all dealing with the girl sleeping beside him.


	6. Chapter 6

Chap 6

**Chap 6**

The next morning, Heero groaned as he opened his eyes to the bright light that shone on his face. He squinted and rubbed his eyes tiredly looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings.

"Where am I?" he asked aloud as he looked at the trees.

He felt something move beside him and he sat up quickly reaching for the gun hidden in his spandex ready to shot his attacker, but when he saw it was Birdie curled up beside him sleeping he relaxed and moved his hand away from his weapon.

He looked around the small clearing and the events from last night came back to him. He suddenly stood up and walked towards the edge of the pond, scared at the sudden change in himself. He couldn't let this girl change him. Not after all the painful training he had gone through with Doctor J. He couldn't let her undue everything he had done to get to this point in his life. He had to eliminate her.

The movement and lack of warmth woke Birdie up and she sat up rubbing her head.

"God, it feels like I've been sleeping on the ground the whole night and there's not this much sun in the morning. What the hell happened?"

She finally looked around at her surroundings and said, "I guess that answers my question. Heero, where are you?"

She stood up, dusting off her pants and looked around for the brown haired boy. She spotted him by the pond and walked over to him.

"There you are. Are you okay? Did you sleep well last night?"

Heero ignored her question and Birdie could instantly tell that this was not the same person she had sat with the entire night. He had closed himself off from her. Birdie sighed dejectedly and said, "We better get back. The others are probably worried about us."

"HEEEEERRRRRRROOOOOO!"

Everyone covered their ears from the painful shriek that echoed through the hallways of Quatre's mansion.

"God damn it, does she have to screech like that so early in the morning," said Aphrodite as she tested her hearing.

Another loud scream came from the halls and Mailie stalked toward the wailing Relena and said, "For the love of God will you shut the hell up. It's too early in the morning for you to be screaming like that."

"But Heero's missing," replied Relena haughtily. "What if something's wrong? I must save him from whatever evil there is out in this world."

"Heero is a freaking Gundam pilot. He can take care of himself," said Aphrodite.

Just then Quatre came over and said, "Birdie is missing. Have you seen her?"

Aphrodite and Mailie looked at each other and the raven-haired girl said, "Well she did follow Heero yesterday. Most likely she's with him."

"WHAT?! That tramp is with my Heero? Now I must really save him. Who knows what kind over—evil things she's doing to him."

Mailie rolled her eyes and said, "They'll show up soon enough."

Birdie and Heero walked in silence back toward the mansion. The blue-haired girl was trying to figure out why Heero had suddenly shut her out, but couldn't understand why. She thought that the other boy was starting to like her and trust her as a friend. But then this morning he had totally brushed her off and there was this cold aura around him. She had to know what was going on.

Birdie stopped walking, looking at the ground, "Heero, why did you shut me out?"

Heero stopped a few feet away from her and said, "You were never inside."

Birdie winced and said, "You are such a bastard, Heero. I thought you were a good guy, but I guess I was wrong."

Birdie pushed pass him and disappeared into the woods. The brunette watched confused until he heard a crash and a loud shout of pain. Without thinking he ran through the woods following the path that Birdie had taken. He found her a couple yards away sitting on the ground clutching her foot.

He kneeled next to her taking her foot in his hand; inspecting it thoroughly.

"It looks sprained," said Heero. "Can you walk?"

Birdie ignored the question and stood up testing her foot lightly at first, however when she tried to take a step she stumbled forward buckling under her weight. Before she could fall to the ground, Heero caught her around her waist. Birdie pushed out of Heero's grip and tried to walk again, but was still unsuccessful. The brunette scowled and easily picked up the blue-haired girl carrying her bridal style.

He walked in silence through the woods; however, the quiet was unsettling and was strangely getting on his nerves.

Heero glanced down at the sulking blue-haired girl and said, "My life is too complicated for you. I've seen and done things that would give you nightmares."

Birdie sighed and replied, "I don't care about that. I'm a Gundam pilot as well. I know what has to be done…and I know what you have to go through isn't easy either. I see you suffering inside. I want to help you—I like you a lot and I don't want to see you hurt anymore."

"You can't save me anymore than Relena can."

Birdie smiled mischievously up at Heero and said, "That's where you're wrong. I can see that you want me to save you."

Heero looked down at her confused, but Birdie just continued to smile; refusing to elaborate any further.

Quatre paced the floors in his study as everyone sat and watched him half amused and half irritated.

"Must you pace like this?" asked Sero, who was sitting on a windowsill staring outside with a frown.

"My sister is missing," replied Quatre frantically. "And you don't know Birdie either. She's capable of getting into trouble without any effort. Who knows what's happened to her."

"She's with Heero," replied Mailie. "He's a fully trained Gundam pilot."

"That's what worries me," replied Quatre. "Heero isn't exactly—safe. There are people out there wanting to kill him. What if she gets caught in a fight? She can't defend herself and neither can Heero look after him and her…"

"Wow, brother. It's great to know the amount of faith you have in me and your friends," replied a voice from the door.

Everybody turned around and Quatre sighed in relief when she saw that Birdie was safe and went over to her checking for any signs of injuries.

"Are you okay? Did anything happen? Why did you stay out all night? Heero didn't do anything to you did he?"

"CALM DOWN, Quatre," rebuked Birdie. "I'm fine."

Before Quatre could respond, Relena pushed pass him grabbing Birdie's arm trying to pull her from Heero's hold.

"Get off of my Heero. You're probably hurting him."

Birdie yanked her arm free and scowled at Relena.

"Let go of me you crazy psycho. If Heero wants to carry me then let him carry me; you have no say in it."

"Hey, why is Heero carrying you?" asked Aphrodite.

"Oh, I sprained my ankle. Heero offered to carry me back."

"You sprained your ankle," exclaimed Quatre. "Why didn't you tell me that? I'll call our personnel doctor to come and check on it."

Birdie rolled her eyes and said, "I'm fine. Heero already checked it. It's just a sprain. If it makes you feel better I'll put some ointment on it and wrap it and Heero will make sure it's done properly."

Relena was about to protest, but before she could utter a sound Heero turned and walked out the door with Birdie in his arms.

Later that day, everyone was lounging in the sitting room in an awkward deafening silence.

Mailie looked around the silent room and said, "Man is this awkward."

Everyone glanced at her strangely and she just shrugged her shoulders, "What? It's the truth."

Aphrodite stood up from her seat next to Duo and said, "She's right. We need to do something fun. What do you have around here that's fun?"

Birdie looked thoughtful for a moment and suggested, "Well how about the pool? We have an Olympic size swimming pool, but hardly anyone uses it."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Quatre.

"But I didn't bring a bathing suit," said Mailie dejectedly.

"Don't worry," reassured Birdie. "I always have extra swimsuits incase this happens."

The young Winner daughter stood up and began to limp out the room when she felt strong arms pick her up.

"Huh? Heero, you don't have to carry me. I can walk."

The Wing Zero pilot ignored her and began to walk out the room, Mailie, Aphrodite, and Sero following him.


End file.
